CAIRO: The crowds of pigeons, doves and sparrows that have been landing regularly on several parts of the Sphinx indicate that the level of humidity is dangerously increasing within the stone structure of the statue, senior tour guide Bassam El Shammaa warned. Visitors to the site have noticed birds settling on the statue's head and the shaded northern part of the structure. Other birds sit in the shaded gaps that make up the Sphinx's eyes and ears. Besides leaving behind acidic droppings, the birds also slowly eat into the fragile stone as they pick the tiny grains of sand. El Shammaa launched an on-line campaign last year called "Save the Sphinx, in which he expanded on his theory that the rising groundwater levels endanger the monument, with water seeping into the stone and creating calcium deposits. It is these calcium deposits, he says, that are attracting increased numbers of birds. "I spoke to experts who told me about capillary action, a natural phenomenon that causes any fluid to ascend or descent through hair-like tubes, he said. "Most probably this is the Sphinx's current condition: most specialists support the assumption that humidity must have ascended and interacted with the Sphinx's limestone rock, resulting in a kind of calcium that is usually relished by pigeons, he added. "But we shouldn't forget that the birds eat into the stone as they pick those tiny bits of calcium. The Sphinx has suffered enough and it's about time to take immediate action. The effect of underground water coupled with the presence of these birds can result in the archaeological loss of one of the emblems of Egypt. "The rock out of which the statue has been hewn is only 55 million years old, a baby rock compared to the mammoth masses found in mountains, El Shammaa said. "But generally the rock has been categorized by experts as a porous spongy mass that could easily be affected by rain, underground or sewerage waters, he added. El Shammaa says that the prevailing opinion among experts is that the groundwater level is not so high as to directly cause damage to the structure of the Sphinx. But he says they have failed to take into account the negative consequences of the increased numbers of birds. While issuing the warning, the tour guide said the phenomenon could also be noticed in the Madinat Habo Temple in Luxor where birds have nestled in the hieroglyphic inscriptions found on the walls, which are considered to be some of the best of ancient Egypt. He also spoke of thousands of bats that inhabit the temples of Phaela, Edfu and Dandara, as well as the Saint George Church in Old Cairo, all of which fill these sites with the powerful ammonia-laden scent of their droppings. To solve the problem in these monuments - including the Sphinx - El Shammaa has suggested the installation of a number of pigeon repellents on the statue. The devices would produce waves that scare away birds without causing any harm either to them or the statue. He said that antiquities officials have been alerted to the problem in temples, but their response was to place wire over the temple's windows, causing the birds to enter through the main gates and become trapped inside. "Bird repellents are badly needed to overcome this problem, El Shammaa stressed.
